In a move aimed at enhancing road safety for children, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) has announced the extension of its Defensive Driver Workshops to scholar transport drivers across the nation. This initiative comes in response to a troubling rise in road accidents involving vehicles transporting schoolchildren, with an alarming average of 827 fatalities among children aged five to 14 recorded annually between 2018 and 2022.
The workshops, which have been successfully conducted for commercial transport drivers since 2016, focus on critical areas such as speed management, vehicle roadworthiness, tyre maintenance, and hazard identification. By equipping scholar transport drivers with essential skills, the RAF aims to instill safer driving practices and reduce the frequency of accidents.
Statistics reveal that a staggering 66% of child fatalities on South African roads involve pedestrians, while 33% are passengers in vehicles. With at least 13.5 million children aged seven to 18 attending school in the country, the need for enhanced safety measures is pressing. Of these children, 67% walk to school, and about 2 million rely on various forms of scholar transport, including private vehicles and government-provided options.
Siphamandla Gumbi, RAF Senior Manager for Road Safety, emphasized the importance of responsibility among scholar transport drivers. “It is critical for Scholar Transport Drivers to recognize their share of responsibility in saving the lives of the learners they transport and of other road users,” he stated. “The Fund has developed road safety initiatives that focus on changing attitudes and behaviors, aiming for outcomes that place value on human lives and reduce road accidents.”
Each participant in the workshop receives a pocket booklet summarizing the key lessons learned, along with a certificate of attendance from an accredited Transport Education Training Authority provider.
In addition to the Defensive Driver Workshops, the RAF implements various road safety programs throughout the year. These initiatives include distributing Scholar Patrol uniforms, conducting Tyre Safety Workshops for Traffic Officers, and launching cyclist safety programs for schools and communities.
The RAF plans to evaluate the effectiveness of these workshops and initiatives in the coming years, with the hope of seeing a substantial positive impact on road safety for South Africa’s most vulnerable road users: its children.
